Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
CHAOS: The Manson Murders (Errol Morris)
Over half a century later, what new information can be gleaned from the nights of August 9 and 10, 1969? Tom O’Neill and Dan Piepenbring’s riveting (if convoluted) book CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties––released in June 2019, between the Cannes premiere and theatrical release of Quentin Tarantino’s cathartic rewrite of that history––argues that while all the evidence of the murders has been gleaned, there’s a complex and knotty web of conspiracies for the motivations, some more plausible than others. To pare down the 528-page book to its most overarching theory, it postulates Manson may have been allowed (and perhaps even directed) by the CIA to concoct a reign of terror in accordance with secret government programs created to squash left-wing movements demanding progress for the country. Culling the most vital elements of the book into an easily digestible 96-minute Netflix documentary, Errol Morris’ CHAOS: The Manson Murders is an absorbing, albeit succinct adaptation of various theories that likely will never see a burden of tangible proof. – Jordan R. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
Directed by Lee Chang-dong
Four films from the great Lee Chang-dong recently debuted in new 4K restorations from Film Movement: Green Fish, Peppermint Candy, Oasis, and Poetry. Now available on The Criterion Channel, alongside Secret Sunshine and Burning, be sure to read Shawn Glinis’ interview with the director.
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Directed by Michael Mann
As we await updates on whether or not David Zaslav will pony up the money for Heat 2, the Criterion Channel is paying tribute to the great Michael Mann with a selection of his finest work, including Thief, Manhunter, The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, The Insider, Ali, and Collateral.
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Gene Hackman
As we continue to mourn the loss of the legendary Gene Hackman, we’ve rounded up all his films available to stream. If one is looking for a few starting recommendations outside of his most acclaimed performances, Nicolas Roeg’s rather wild Eureka and the entertaining programmers The Package and No Way Out are all worth a look.
- AMC+: Unforgiven
- The Criterion Channel: The Conversation
- Fubo: Downhill Racer, The Firm, Heist
- Max: Superman, Superman II, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
- Netflix: Runaway Jury, Under Suspicion
- Paramount+: The Firm, The Mexican, Unforgiven
- Pluto TV: Downhill Racer, The Quick and the Dead, Reds
- Prime Video: Behind Enemy Lines, The Birdcage, Cisco Pike, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Eureka, The French Connection, French Connection II, Get Shorty, Heartbreakers, Hoosiers, The Hunting Party, March or Die, The Poseidon Adventure, The Royal Tenenbaums, Under Fire, Welcome to Mooseport
- Tubi: Another Woman, A Bridge Too Far, Company Business, The Domino Principle, Get Shorty, The Hunting Party, Loose Cannons, Mad Dog Coll, March or Die, Mississippi Burning, No Way Out, The Package, Postcards from the Edge, Runaway Jury
Heretic (Scott Beck and Bryan Woods)
Missionary work has always fascinated me. Not when it’s performed abroad as a means of indoctrinating people who might otherwise be unaware. I mean here, in America, where anyone fascinated with religion could simply walk up to a church, synagogue, or mosque and ask to learn. Yes, there’s a degree of marketing at play and companies have advertising budgets to spend in ways that also serve their flock by providing them a façade of purpose, but to have a door opened with a resident genuinely saying “you’ve converted me” is insane. It happens, though. People are impressionable. People are lonely. That’s where Scott Beck and Bryan Woods leave us at the start of Heretic. – Jared M. (full review)
Where to Stream: Max
How to Have Sex (Molly Manning Walker)
Touching down in Heraklion, on the Greek island of Crete, marks the beginning of summer holidays for Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce), Skye (Lara Peake), and Em (Enva Lewis), a trio of best friends who have just taken their A-levels and for whom school is the last thing on their mind. The first thing is… well, the title gives it away. British teens on holiday at a Greek resort means booze, booze, and more booze, but Molly Manning Walker’s debut film has the power to take these prosaic cultural archetypes (teenhood, virginity, youth drinking culture) and use them as tools to tell a poignant story about the ambivalences of growing up, female friendships, and consent. – Savina P. (full review)
Where to Stream: Netflix
Murdering the Devil (Ester Krumbachová)
While best known for her scripting and/or costume design contributions to Věra Chytilová’s Daisies and Fruit of Paradise, Jan Němec’s Diamonds of the Night, Vojtěch Jasný’s All My Compatriots, Zbyněk Brynych’s The Fifth Horseman Is Fear, and more, Czech New Wave legend Ester Krumbachová directed a sole feature. The single-location Murdering the Devil is a immaculately designed, comedic inquiry into male chauvinism, following a bachelorette who invites an old childhood friend over for a date. What follows is a gluttonous journey of surrealistic touches as the tables eventually turn. A feast of feeling and ideas, it’s rather a shame Krumbachová passed in 1996 without ever having the opportunity to take on another directorial effort, but thankfully her debut has now been restored in beautiful 4K. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Metrograph at Home
Only the River Flows (Wei Shujun)
Wei Shujun’s detective noir Only the River Flows (based on a story of the same name by Chinese author Yu Hua) is set in a small town along a river in China’s Jiangdong province where it seems the sun never shines. The atmosphere is unrelentingly melancholy: the town’s infrastructure is crumbling, the police have turned the local cinema into their headquarters (no one sees films there anymore), Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” plays frequently, and––yes––there is a murder. – Gabrielle M. (full review)
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Red Rocket (Sean Baker)
Few directors on the planet are making films that feel as lived-in as Sean Baker. Perhaps that is why Tangerine, The Florida Project, and Red Rocket resonate so strongly. More than verisimilitude, though, it is Baker’s understanding of the complexities of human nature that pushes his work to the level of excellence. Simon Rex’s Mikey Saber, an ex-porn star whose eye for a hustle is ever-present, behaves exactly how he should—uncaringly destructive to himself and others, but with a lovable grin. Part of the joy we derive from watching Red Rocket is our realization that Mikey is going to make the selfish move every single damn time. So very, very wrong; so very, very 2021. It cements Baker as one of cinema’s brightest lights, and features a lead performance that remains endearing even when Mikey is at his worst, not to mention a magnificent debut from Suzanna Son. In its final sequence, Rocket reveals Mikey to be something rare: a character completely true to himself. Deluded, but true. Thus Red Rocket is more than a comedy. It is a modern classic exploring the flaws and desires of a man who in his relentless selfishness and overwhelming confidence is a quintessential American. Might sound crazy, but it ain’t no lie. – Chris S.
Where to Stream: Tubi
Transit (Christian Petzold)
If Malick’s latest film provided a new way to look at the era of World War II, Christian Petzold wholly upends our notion of how the time could be depicted with Transit. The drama adapts the setting of Anna Seghers’ novel 1942-set novel–following a German political refugee in limbo in Marseilles–to the present day without changing the dialogue to reflect its modern era. It’s a touch of genius that, coupled with Petzold’s eye for subtlety and movement (when it comes to both his characters and the camera), makes for the best film of last year. In a career of great accomplishments (the majority of which prior to this thematic trilogy, also including Barbara and Phoenix, have yet to be widely discovered), his new film is the immensely rewarding yet thoroughly enigmatic culmination of his fascination with history, romance, and thrills. – Jordan R.
Where to Stream: Metrograph at Home
Vermiglio (Maura Delpero)
Vermigilio is a splendid exemplar of “they don’t make ‘em like they used to.” The sprawling, historical, novelistic, Visconti-esque family epic with dozens of characters has been smartly updated to modern sensibilities. Maura Delpero focuses on the working class rather than the wealthy, adopts a tight two-hour runtime rather than some indulgent length, and––most importantly––privileges the female perspective. Delpero shows gratifying ambition, curiosity, and accomplishment in just her second feature to date. – Ankit K.
Where to Stream: VOD
Also New to Streaming
The Criterion Channel
Amadeus
Dogme 95
French Poetic Realism
Pressure
Scene Stealers: Best Supporting Actors
The Tantalizing Tales of Alain Guiraudie
Douglas Sirk Noir
Film Movement+
Oceans Are the Real Continent
Kino Film Collection
Identifying Features
Murina
Metrograph at Home
Directed By Andrew Norman Wilson
Ida
Strawberry Mansion
Wuti Presents: Trailblazing Women Of British Cinema
MUBI (free for 30 days)
100 Yards
The Assassin
Citizenfour
Contemporary Irish Cinema
Ema
The Final Master
El Planeta
Shadow
Netflix
Do the Right Thing
Sicario
Paramount+ with Showtime
Rumours
Strange Darling
Prime Video
Poor Things
Shudder
Starve Acre
Tubi
Marie Antoinette
Pulse
Sunset Song
VOD
Heart Eyes
Rose